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Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) on Thursday refused to veto Republican-inserted language in the state’s 2019 budget that would prevent the state from joining the RGGI carbon market next year and the future Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) programme, but directed staff to explore ways to implement the state’s power sector ETS independently.

The Humane Society are calling for mandatory sentencing and for jurisdictions like the Northern Territory to set-up dedicated environmental courts to deal with the problem.

The Climate Strike movement shows us loud and clear that youth not only care about climate change, but that it needs to be brought to the table to cement their vote. Hannah Feldman, PhD Researcher in Science Communication, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Environmental groups oppose loosening Obama-era regulations as Trump pushes to expand offshore drilling

The Trump administration on Thursday moved to ease safety regulations adopted after the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon blowout, the worst offshore oil disaster in US history that killed nearly a dozen people and caused massive pollution.

David Bernhardt, the interior secretary, said in a statement the administration was acting to eliminate “unnecessary regulatory burdens while maintaining safety and environmental protection offshore”.

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EUAs continued the week’s downward path on Thursday, breaking several technical support levels as traders saw little reason for buyers to emerge after the annual compliance deadline and amid bearish signals from the energy complex.

Just over 220 installations and airlines operating have failed to meet their obligations under the EU ETS in 2018, according to data published by the European Commission on Thursday, showing that the non-compliance rate has dropped under 2%.

Two offset project developers from the US and Canada have started a new joint venture to develop and sell voluntary credits from grasslands conservation, with the possibility of exploring other project types and entering compliance carbon markets.

The LIGO-VIRGO instruments tasked with detecting gravitational waves triggered five times in April.

A row over how much it would cost to increase Australia’s emissions ambition and the impact of using international offsets dominates the country's newspaper headlines ahead of the May 18 election, as the nation’s decade-old climate wars show no sign of receding.

The move has been likened to putting the country on a "war footing", with climate and the environment at the very centre of all government policy, rather than being on the fringe of political decisions. Chris Turney, Professor of Earth Science and Climate Change, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, UNSW Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

The Climate Strike movement shows us loud and clear that youth not only care about climate change, but that it needs to be brought to the table to cement their vote. Hannah Feldman, PhD Researcher in Science Communication, Australian National University Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.

Emission of greenhouse gases has fallen, but environmental issues are still ‘an emergency’

Should the UK declare a “climate emergency” that would inform public policy and the national budget? The question was been debated in parliament on Wednesday, with the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn declaring the government should “embrace hope” through stronger actions on greenhouse gas emissions, and the environment secretary, Michael Gove, calling the problem of climate change “an emergency”.

Outside parliament, the activist group Extinction Rebellion has brought London motor traffic to a standstill on several occasions, and the youth activist Greta Thunberg has held meetings with leading politicians, including Gove and Corbyn but excluding the prime minister.

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Gulf nation economies are built around energy exports. Climate change means they will have to look beyond fossil fuels in order to keep their economies afloat.

The post Why the new “solar superpowers” are likely to be the Gulf petro-states appeared first on RenewEconomy.

W.A.'s $315m Badgingarra Wind Farm officially opened. To be co-located with $40m 17.5MW Badgingarra Solar Farm, which is under construction.

The post WA’s 130MW Badgingarra wind farm officially opens appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Shorten unveils $75m Renewables Training Package, extends establishment of Renewable Energy Zones to Tasmania, where it makes down-payment on Battery of Nation.

The post Labor pledges funding for renewable jobs, support for Tasmania Battery of the Nation appeared first on RenewEconomy.

AEMC gives final approval for market operator to retain its emergency reserve mechanism, on condition it provides more visibility on contracts and costs.

The post Rule-maker gives operator OK to continue with emergency reserves appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Angus Taylor has been waging scare campaigns since before he entered parliament, but even he must be stunned by the media's complicity and gullibility with his latest efforts.

The post Why does media fall for Angus Taylor’s ridiculous scare campaigns? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Power systems expert Bruce Miller questions why new wind and solar plants are required to install synchronous condensers, and questions other regulatory thinking about frequency and voltage.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Have regulators gone too far on “system strength”? appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The two biggest solar farms switch off in South Australia as market prices go negative. Anyone got a solar sponge?

The post South Australia solar farms switch off as prices fall below zero appeared first on RenewEconomy.

The recreational drug ketamine also turned up in samples of wildlife examined in Suffolk

Researchers have found cocaine in all samples of shrimp tested in a rural area of eastern England, with ketamine also widespread.

Scientists from King’s College London, in collaboration with the University of Suffolk, made the “surprise” discovery after taking samples from 15 locations across the mostly rural county of Suffolk.

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